CCPR/C/JPN/CO/6 (d) In light of the Committee’s previous concluding observations (see CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 17), establish a mandatory and effective system of review in capital cases, with requests for retrial or pardon having a suspensive effect, and guaranteeing the strict confidentiality of all meetings between death row inmates and their lawyers concerning requests for retrial; (e) Establish an independent mechanism to review the mental health of death row inmates; (f) Consider acceding to the Second Optional Protocol to the Covenant, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. Sexual slavery practices against “comfort women” 14. The Committee is concerned by the State party’s contradictory position that the “comfort women” were not “forcibly deported” by Japanese military during wartime but that the “recruitment, transportation and management” of women in comfort stations was done in many cases against their will, through coercion and intimidation by the military or entities acting on behalf of the military. The Committee considers that any such acts carried out against the will of the victims are sufficient to consider them as human rights violations involving the direct legal responsibility of the State party. The Committee is also concerned about revictimization of the former “comfort women” by attacks on their reputations, including by public officials, and some that are encouraged by the State party’s equivocal position. The Committee takes into account information that all claims for reparation brought by victims before Japanese courts have been dismissed, and all complaints to seek criminal investigation and prosecution against perpetrators have been rejected on the ground of the statute of limitations. The Committee considers that this situation reflects ongoing violations of the victims’ human rights, as well as a lack of effective remedies available to them as victims of past human rights violations (arts. 2, 7 and 8). The State party should take immediate and effective legislative and administrative measures to ensure: (a) That all allegations of sexual slavery or other human rights violations perpetrated by the Japanese military during wartime against the “comfort women” are effectively, independently and impartially investigated and that perpetrators are prosecuted and, if found guilty, punished; (b) Access to justice and full reparation to victims and their families; (c) The disclosure of all available evidence; (d) Education of students and the general public about the issue, including adequate references in textbooks; (e) The expression of a public apology and official recognition of the responsibility of the State party; (f) Condemnation of any attempts to defame victims or to deny the events. Trafficking in persons 15. While appreciating the efforts made by the State party to address trafficking in persons, the Committee remains concerned about the persistence of the phenomenon, as well as about the low number of prison sentences imposed on perpetrators, the fact that no perpetrators of forced labour have been brought to justice, the decline in victim identification and the insufficient support granted to victims (art. 8). 5